Lives with many chapters don’t get much more colorful than the one lived by Greig Steiner. And for Steiner, one chapter’s ending usually morphs into another, bringing yet more local and national accolades for his talents.
These days, he’s usually associated with his artistic works using different mediums including oversized murals, sculptures and set designs, but the book of Steiner’s early life is a representation of the man the Estes Valley community has come to know.
Born in Los Angeles in 1934, Steiner lived in Cripple Creek with one set of grandparents, then in Englewood with the other. The move to Englewood gave rise to what could be called Steiner’s first chapter in life, for his grandfather’s garden was the inspiration for his first foray as an entrepreneur.
“I said ‘I want to sell stuff from the garden.’ I built a little platform and got some cabbages. I don’t know that I sold anything,” Steiner recalls.
Cabbage aside, Steiner began drawing and sketching as a youngster. By the time he was 12, he won his first blue ribbon and ‘Best of Show’ designation in the adult division of a juried city-wide art show. Even a high school teacher taking credit for Steiner’s work in a national competition didn’t deter him from continuing his quest to be known for his art.
As a high school junior in Covina, Calif., Steiner returned to his entrepreneurial roots to begin “Shirley Greig Originals,” for which he custom-designed women’s clothing. From there, he was admitted as a third-year level student to the prestigious Pasadena Playhouse College of Theater Arts of California on a full scholarship, an education that was interrupted by the Korean War.
However, that interruption brought another of Steiner’s early artistic endeavors – dance – back to the forefront. He’d been dancing since he was seven and when military service called, he became a member of the U.S. Army Special Services, performing in USO shows and as an American Red Cross entertainer for hospitals, camp shows, and aboard troop ships. He performed in Korea and was named an Honorary Lifetime Member of Advanced Rehabilitation Centers for completing 2,000 performances for injured Americans in Military hospitals.
When his tour of duty ended, Steiner returned to the Pasadena Playhouse College of Theater Arts where he was awarded a bachelor of theater arts and became fully entrenched in the world of theater set design. In 1959 a buddy from his army days enticed him to join him in fulfilling a dream to start the Backroom Theater for the Darkhorse Players in Estes Park.
That led to a second theater here, this time a cabaret in a space at what is now Lonigan’s. Once that gig ended, the door to visual art opened when well-known artist David Stirling offered Steiner a place to stay so he could paint.
Leaving the theater for full time art had its challenges.
“The big problem I had was that I was used to painting stuff as big as this building,” Steiner said using his arms spread wide apart to illustrate the vastness of size, “and cutting it down to something this big,” he added, shaking his head.
“Dave left me alone pretty much. I don’t know how I managed to do it, but by the time the season opened in late June, I had some stuff on the walls (to sell). I kept painting during the summer and got a lot more stuff done,” Steiner said.
The time Steiner lived with Stirling had other advantages as well. It was close enough to Denver so he could date Ann who he had met at the Dark Horse. By that time, she was teaching in Denver. After they married, Steiner’s first gallery, Greig Steiner Gallery and Design Studio, opened.
The last six decades have been a continuation of more art, more studios, more set designs, more community involvement and more development as a commissioned artist.
In Estes Park there have been several galleries, construction of a downtown shopping complex, along with travels all over the world. Today, the pace is slower.
About 30 years ago Steiner began appraising and restoring fine art paintings and sculptures from all over the world. In 2018, he was commissioned to restore an 1800s stucco nativity and stations of the cross for St. John XXIII Catholic Church in Fort Collins.
“They had been painted and painted and painted. They had layers and layers and layers and layers of paint on them. They were chipped and broken in places,” Steiner said. The restoration work was finished earlier this year.
At 90, Steiner isn’t stopping. His latest project? He is designing sculptures he hopes will someday mark the entrance to an Estes Park Performing Arts Center in Stanley Park.
You must be logged in to post a comment.